However, this time a group of four of us visited this friendly Roath deli for evening tapas.

Deli Rouge open two nights a week on Thursdays and Fridays ‘til 9pm when they make the most of their produce packed fridges by serving up a menu of tapas.

Ok, so I acknowledge the dishes are more straightforward than at my favourite South Wales tapas joint, Bar 44.

But, Deli Rouge are serving up some quality produce in a really friendly, chilled out environment.

Furthermore, it’s good value to boot – 3 tapas will set you back just over a tenner and a bottle of highly chugable tempranillo comes in at £9.90.

Big winners included a creamy mozzarella ball with a fresh as heck pesto; enjoyably squeaky halloumi with fried peppers & onions; a slice of rich baked goat’s cheese with sweet caramelised onions; pan-fried artichokes with feta stuffed peppers; and a generous plateful of prosciutto drizzled with oil and balsamic.

Less stellar but still enjoyable options included hummus with punchy harissa; fresh bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar; well-spiced chorizo with fried mushrooms and tomatoes; a good selection of mixed pitted olives; balsamic onions with blue cheese (a bit more cheese wouldn’t have gone amiss); run of the mill dolmades; and a pedestrian selection of salami.

The only real duds were a bowl of nachos topped with a meagre amount of cheese and fried mushrooms cooked in a throat-stripping quantity of chilli.

We finished off the meal with a trawl of the fridges and shelves for dessert.

A slice of warm plum tart with vanilla ice cream (£3.90) was packed with sweet fruit with just the right hint of tartness, but it was let down by the pastry which had softened during reheating.

All in all, we had a lovely night at Deli Rouge. It's certainly a lovely place to chill out for a few hours with a bottle of wine and a few plates of meat and cheese.

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About Gourmet Gorro

My name is Ed Gilbert. I'm an indiscriminate glutton who enjoys a late night doner as much as a bit of posh. I like to think I can occasionally share a valid opinion about food when my judgement hasn't been clouded by the meat red mist. I'm a Cardiff based Geordie who's spent time living in Newcastle, London, Chester and Cambridge. I mostly write reviews of restaurants in Cardiff, South Wales.

I use a Lumix LX5 camera. All photos are my own unless otherwise stated.